Proposed anti-gay bill in Kenya is appalling

Anova Health Institute expresses grave concern at Kenya’s proposed bill that wants foreign gay people stoned to death in public. The draft bill is now before the National Assembly through a petition by a political party.

The draft bill has proposed that a foreigner who commits a homosexual act be stoned in public, while Kenyan nationals found guilty will be jailed for life.

The draft bill, presented alongside a petition by the party’s legal secretary, Edward Onwong’a Nyakeriga, is seeking to criminalise sodomy, with offenders earning life imprisonment.

Last week, a Ugandan court rejected a not-dissimilar law passed in December last year by that country’s legislators. The court ruled that Parliament had not met the quorum requirement when passing the law. The law was condemned locally and internationally, with the US threatening Uganda with sanctions over its enactment. The bill is likely to face immense opposition from civil society, with some organisations having already openly supported the gay culture and lifestyle.

In July, a poll by Ipsos Synovate found that 64% of Kenyans believe homosexuality is an unnatural act and is learned in the growing-up process. According to the study, only 14% of Kenyans surveyed in the poll believe that being gay is natural and some people are indeed born this way.